What's up RotoBallers. Week 14 is complete and we hope you managed to secure the win and make your fantasy football playoffs. To celebrate, today we are bringing you our Week 15 fantasy football playoff rankings to help prepare you for your Week 15 playoff matchups.
Below you will find both PPR rankings and standard league rankings for Week 15, brought to you by Zach Wilkens (@LopsidedTrades) and Edward Gorelik (@EdwardGorelik). Lead fantasy football columnist Edward Gorelik also highlights some rankings analysis for the Week 15 playoffs, broken out by position, and draws some matchup conclusions. He tells you who he likes, who he doesn't, and most importantly who he thinks you should be starting in Week 15.
You can also check out our 2015 fantasy football ranking dashboard, for more in depth rankings analysis on all positions including rookies and dynasty leagues.
Rankings are subject to change leading up to the games, but the analysis written might not.
Week 15 Fantasy Football Playoff Rankings - All Positions
powered by FantasyPros
Week 15 Quarterback (QB) Rankings Analysis
By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)
Russell Wilson is currently on an insane four week streak where he's averaging one touchdown pass every seven attempts. He's the obvious pick for the #1 ranked QB this week - he'll be seeing a Cleveland team led by Johnny Manziel at home, which should mean Wilson will be on the field often.
Matthew Stafford will be getting the chance to show his stuff this week against the Saints defense, who has actually been very bad when they're at home this year. Stafford however hasn't been the greatest on the road, seeing a nearly 10 point drop in points scored.
So which beats which - Stafford's bad away splits, or the Saints bad defense? It's likely going to be more of the latter, especially when the Saints defense lacks the corners to deal with Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate.
Your random QB ready to blow up this week is probably going to be Alex Smith. Smith has been a better passer on the road this season than at home, and the Ravens have allowed 15 points or more to every QB they've faced this year at home (other than Nick Foles). Smith might be able to sneak into the QB1 group.
Week 15 Running Back (RB) Playoff Rankings Analysis
By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)
Eddie Lacy reportedly met with the coaches last week for a meeting, and as a result operated as the lead back for the Packers against the Cowboys. Assuming he doesn't miss another curfew, he'll be facing a completely average Oakland defense and should be able to run all over them from the start to the end of the game.
Denard Robinson is coming in for T.J. Yeldon who's suffered a knee injury (sprained MCL). Everyone remembers Denard from last year, when he broke out before breaking down with his own injury. Well, it's his time to break out again. He'll be facing the sinking ship of the Falcons, who rank as average in DVOA against the run, but are second overall for the season for points allowed to running backs.
That might be because they also allow an average of 60 yards per game through the air to the position, and everyone should already know that Denard is quite a good pass catching back. Expect shoelace to be an RB1 when facing the Falcons at home.
With Spencer Ware being hit by an injury, Charcandrick West will be re-entering lineups everywhere as a safe RB2 when he faces the Ravens this week. In games that West has started and finished, the Chiefs have given him no less than 24 touches and he got a touchdown in all of those games. Although the Ravens defense has been quite good against RBs, his volume should keep him in good shape.
Bryce Brown is expected to start for the Seahawks against the Browns this week. Starting a just-signed-RB seems like a risky move. But with no competition for touches (the Seahawks have implied through their usage of Fred Jackson that they do not see him as more than a supporting player), he should be ready to blow through one of the leagues worst run defenses.
Week 15 Wide Receiver (WR) Playoff Rankings Analysis
By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)
Larry Fitzgerald faces the Eagles this week. That's a big deal. Fitzgerald has never had a bad game against the Eagles in the six times he's faced them. On top of that, Fitzgerald has a four point swing in the positive direction whenever he plays an away game. But I want to talk some more about Fitzgerald's stats against the Eagles. Actually, i'll just let this image do the talking for me:
Odell Beckham will be seeing Josh Norman this week and that's going to be a very tough matchup for both of them. However, the Giants aren't afraid of placing OBJ in the slot - so there's no reason to believe he'll get shut out, like many players have when facing Norman this year. On top of that, OBJ might simply be too good to get shut out. Either way, he's still someone you should start this week.
Amari Cooper should be ready to return to WR2 graces this week, especially with Sam Shields missing when the Packers travel to Oakland. With no CB1 to cover Cooper, it'll be tough for the Packers to find an answer for the youngster - he should be looking at another strong rookie performance to bounce back from his zero catch weekend.
Pittsburgh receivers have a horrible matchup this week. Well, the two main ones do - Antonio Brown will likely be shadowed by Chris Harris Jr., while Martavis Bryant gets Aqib Talib. That leaves Markus Wheaton with Bradley Roby.
Wheaton's already blown up, when both Harris and Bryant were unavailable to carry the load against the Seahawks. And as of the last three weeks, he's been seeing enough targets to be a viable FLEX option. Brown and Bryant both get downgraded into the WR2 area, while Wheaton is seeing an upgrade into WR3 this week.
Week 15 Tight End (TE) Playoff Rankings Analysis
By Edward Gorelik (@Edward Gorelik)
Ben Watson will be at home against a Detroit Lions defense allowing over 60 yards a game to tight ends on average, second most TDs to the position, and 4th most points in the league to them. Did I mention that this is a Saints receiver playing at home? That's kind of a big deal. Watson has seen a five point positive swing when playing at home this year.
Speaking of players playing at home against weak competition, Julius Thomas has been on a touchdown streak the last four weeks. The Falcons have also allowed the 7th most touchdowns to the position for the season.
They've also allowed over 60 yards per game to the position. Thomas also averages 13 points per game when at home, a nine point difference from when he plays away games. Both of Watson and Thomas should be amongst the top TE performers this weekend.
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Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.